


dueling at midnight in my polka-dotted footsies

by MockingjayWannabe



Series: History of Hogwart Duels [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Harry Potter - Freeform, Marauders' Era, WolfeVerse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-24
Updated: 2017-10-24
Packaged: 2019-01-22 15:38:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,759
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12485004
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MockingjayWannabe/pseuds/MockingjayWannabe
Summary: It was supposed to be like any other prank. James would pose as Barty Crouch Jr., change the Slytherin Common Room to Gryffindor colors with Sirius backing him up, run away, lure the Slytherins into the hallway, summon half of Gryffindor House and give the Slytherins a duel they can't win.Of course, when you add Incendio Tria, the Potter/Snape rivalry, two temper-mental redheads, and bring up the Snape/Evans incident, you'll find what's supposed to be a prank to get many Slytherins landed in detention will soon turn into a fiery spat between two brothers.





	dueling at midnight in my polka-dotted footsies

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [A Tale of Two Sides](https://archiveofourown.org/works/3948538) by [EmiliyaWolfe](https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmiliyaWolfe/pseuds/EmiliyaWolfe). 



_**Ok, so I wrote this because I was bored and I wanted to write**_ something _ **Harry Potter. I LOVE EmiliyaWolfe's A Tale of Two Sides on Quotev (it's also on ArchiveOfOurOwn: A Tale of Two Sides. go check it out, it's amazing!) and wanted to write my story in her universe, but then looked back**_ on _ **my work and was like, "Wait, those characters were supposed to have already graduated...hmm, Barty's supposed to smarter...well, I think that's all there is. No prob, I can fix it - "**_  
_**And then the bomb hit me:**_  
_**I didn't add Emma Potter into my story, and she's one of EmiliyaWolfe's main characters. By the time I realized this, I was practically done with my story, so I was like, "NOPE, NOT GOING TO REDO EVERYTHING." cause I'm (lazy) an**_ improvisationalist _ **.**_  
_**So, I just basically borrowed some theories (Regulus was protecting his brother, Slytherin nature, etc.) and stuff like that. I tried to make this action filled for whoever reads this (one random guy at the bottom of "Results for Harry Potter") and hope you like it. I dunno what the meaning of the story is; just kinda showing the Slytherin/Gryffindor relationship.**_  
_**Goodbye, my one reader, the random guy at the bottom of "Results for Harry Potter" (Yes, that is your official title now. Be proud.) I must now go and try to master the art of linking.**_  
_**P.S. I created some spells 'cause I was too lazy to go look them up. Also, Incendio Tria isn't really banned at Hogwarts (as far as I know), it just needed to be that way for the story to work.**_  
_**P.P.S. I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters mentioned. They all rightfully belong to JK Rowling.**_  
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_**Sirius** _

Sirius prowled silently down the school hallways, melting into the night shadows. He would've felt safer if he had the Invisibility Cloak with him, but Prongs was doing the more dangerous part of their prank, so he would have it. Besides, as his friend always reminded the rest of the Marauders, he actually owned the cloak.

The dungeons were freezing, water dripping from cracks and overhanging icicles. Weak, flickering green flames that sprouted from the heads of the silver snakes that aligned the walls (Sirius liked to pretend the slippery creatures were burning to death) did nothing to keep out the cold. He would've felt bad for the Slytherins if they weren't...well, Slytherins.  
Shaking his head, Sirius focused once again on the mission. Being sidetracked would no doubt ruin the prank, and knowing the silver and green students, there were probably dozens of evil curses all around their Common Room's entrance.

Finally reaching the end of the hallway, Sirius cast a flimsy Illusion Charm on himself while he waited for Prongs next to the door (thank Merlin for the Marauder's Map; how did the Slytherins remember which exact stone to press for the entrance?). Seconds turned to minutes as minutes turned to hours. With each passing moment, he was getting more and more anxious. What if those nasty Slytherins had caught Prongs and were now hexing him to death? Oh, no, no, no, this was bad. Sirius had to go and save his friend!  
Wasting no more time, Sirius whipped out his wand and narrowed his eyes at the door.  
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_**Regulus** _

It was so pathetic.  
Regulus could see right through it, through Potter's mask. The self-proclaimed "Quidditch God" was scoffing nearly every five seconds and sticking his nose up in the air at a simple "Could you hand me the tasseled cushion, please?". In other words, he was acting so unlike Barty Crouch Jr. that Regulus was compelled to roll on the carpet and laugh. He could see that Rabastan was having the same problem.

Everyone in the Common Room knew that it was James Potter impersonating one of their fellow House-mates, but the Slytherins also wanted to see where this was going to lead to. Contrary to many Gryffindor's theories that they were nothing but grouchy, bloodthirsty Death Eaters, the Slytherin House did have a sense of humor, if not a snarky one. And as if Pothead could beat the twenty-three well-trained witches and wizards in a duel.

The Gryffindor(k) seemed to realize that and loudly proclaimed to the room, "I NEED TO PEE!", sauntering off his spot on the couch, earning quite a few sniggers, but no one mentioned that there were bathrooms near their dorms.

He dramatically cried, "Morbilicorpus!" and practically fainted upon the Floating Spell. Potter attempted to suavely drift through the door, but once he had, magically, of course, turned the doorknob, another poorly disguised figure barreled into the Slytherin Common Room, knocking Potter over.

At once the Slytherins were on their feet, wands whipped out, pointing at Sirius Orion Black.  
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_**Sirius** _

"Oh, Merlin."

Thirty or so Snakes were in the traditional dueling pose, eyes narrowed into slits at Prongs and Sirius, the latter spewing every curse he knew at the Slytherins.  
Sirius's Illusion Charm had already worn off, which called for a, "Do now, think never" action. Fortunately, or unfortunately, as Moony would say, he worked well rushes. Wasting no time, he pressed his wand tip to the enchanted leather band on his wrist and cried, "Summonas!"

James, also quick to respond, hastily cast the Color-Changing Charm on the Slytherin Common Room, and immediately, scarlet and gold began to wash away the green and silver. Carpets, blankets, cushions, you name it, were burning with Gryffindor pride. Their banners rolled themselves up, and when they unfurled themselves again, they pictured a roaring lion. Statues of snakes weren't changed much, unfortunately, except for a slight red tint on their color.

The Slytherins, as expected, didn't like the change in scenery nearly as much as the two hightailing Gryffindors, and went after them, throwing hexes all along the way.

"Catch the Blood Traitors!" Bellatrix the Blood Maniac screeched and then brought her wand around in an arc. "Tormentus Electrica!"

Several blades of lightning erupted from her wand and sailed through the air, each one flying wildly after the two Marauders. Sirius didn't dare look back; stop for a second and you'll get the honor of being electrified by Bellatrix's own invention. One of them would've caught Prongs in the back, if not Marlene McKinnon had not been successfully summoned right behind his messy haired friend that moment.

Letting out a (sort of) fearsome war cry, Marlene brought her wand straight up and yelled, "Protego!"

The bolt bounced off the shield and hurtled back towards to the Snakes before demolishing a pillar. Five or four of them, all in a line, had to duck, one after another, and Sirius couldn't help but laugh at the sight.

Golden light flashed all around them as Gryffindor arrived after Gryffindor, joining the duel. Mary McDonald appeared, shooting Confundos as she spun around in a whirl of brown locks. Even Remus, who normally stayed out of fights, sent hexes and jinxes towards the Snakes.

"Y' know, Snivelly, I think it's time you've had a haircut - the Black hairstyle just doesn't work for you. Diffindo!" Sirius turned around at the mention of his surname and saw Prongs advancing on Snivellus, who's oily locks had somewhat resembled Sirius's own (sans the greasiness, of course) now had several chunks missing from his once long hair--the crude work of the Severing Charm. Sirius smirked, also raising his wand. "Flipendo!"

The slimy git narrowly missed his spell and pointed his wand at Sirius. "Serpensortia!"

A long, black snake shot out of the end of Snivellus' wand, landing right in front of Sirius. Its scales glistened like sharp, black diamonds; beautiful, but able to stab in deep. Fiery gray eyes were a storm of malice. Sirius backed up, but it was almost impossible to move in the crowd of dueling students.

It reared back, and then flew at its target, poisonous fangs missing Sirius' nose by an inch before falling down again, though this time instead of attacking, the snake slithered slowly across the floor, knowing that it had its victim cornered by the wall. Prongs got over his frozen shock and roared, "Expulso!"

Blue light burst from his wand and hit the snake in its middle, exploding the vile creature into black dust. The force of the spell was enough to knock Sirius off his feet, though Snivellus had obviously taken the brunt of the after-effects, sliding on his stomach for a few meters before skidding to a stop.

Prongs grinned, lifting up his wand. Sirius gripped his own, ready to give the slimy git a piece of his mind, though he would let his friend go first. Prongs was about to cast his famous Levitating Spell, when Regulus stepped in front of the breathless Snivellus and shouted, "Incendio Tria!"  
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_**Rabastan** _

Rabastan slashed the air with his wand, watching with amusement as Pettigrew's head swelled in size considerably, giving everyone a clear view of the Rat's pimples.

"That all you got?" Rodolphus taunted as he spun on a mudblood, jabbing his wand at her, "Hypnos Somnum!"

McDonald froze on the spot, eyes fluttering shut as she gasped weakly. Rabastan knew the feeling as being hit with nausea and sleepiness, hearing things as if you were underwater. It was Rodolphus' own version of the Drowsiness Spell, able to put the target in a hypnotic state, and a worthy spell to cast during a raid, but Rabastan had a few tricks up his own sleeve.

"Defodio!" The ground around Grenfell, a muggle-lover, caved in as the Gouging Spell hit, sending marble flying through the air. Rabastan pointed his wand at five or so of the largest rocks and yelled, "Avifors Oppugno!"

Marble began to break away from the chunks, air sculpting the rocks, giving them wings, claws, and beady, emotionless eyes. Soon enough, large stone birds were dive-bombing unsuspecting Gryffindorks down below.

His brother gave Rabastan a nod (ever the serious one), which by Roldophus Standards was equal to bowing at his feet and screaming, "TEACH ME YOUR WAYS!". Rabastan waited for Regulus' sarcastic comment, but his friend was nowhere to be found. Everyone was just a blur of flashing colors; the dark hallway only being lit by blinding spells and curses, so that the scene somewhat resembled a wild party.

Rabastan shoved through the crowd of students until he found Lucius, who despite his snobbish background and was expected to be complaining about DADA all the time, was an excellent dueler, and absolutely destroying the Gryffindorks. Rabastan himself didn't like Malfoy, as the blond was constantly kissing the important people's butts, flattering his way up the Ministry. As Rudolphus' little brother, he was in the background, and Rabastan didn't like that. But Lucius probably was the only person to have seen Regulus, seeing as he was in the middle of the hallway, therefore allowing him to see everything and everyone.

"Where's Regulus?" Rabastan shouted as he backed up against the seventh year, dueling against Fabian Prewett.

"Think he went after Severus," Lucius answered and then shoved his hand forcefully towards Gideon Prewett, sending a wave of magical energy at the ginger, doing wandless and non-verbal spells and with ease. The Prewett twins were known for their pranks and flaming red hair, but not so much for their ability to duel amazingly, though everyone could see that Gideon was having trouble holding his ground, as Lucius was performing magic with his bare hand and his wand. Then, in the same collected tone that he addressed everyone with, he said, "Relashio."  
Gideon Prewett's arm was wrenched forward painfully, eyes going wide as he watched his own wand being pulled free from his grasp. Lucius sharply tilted his wand to the right, and Gideon's own snapped in half. The singer looked in disbelief at the two broken pieces of wood before being thrown back and up in the air by Lucius' silent _Deprimo_.

"Gid!" Fabian cried, quickly casting the Cushioning Charm on the area his twin landed on. Though Gideon broke no bones thanks to his brother's quick thinking, Fabian was distracted long enough for Rabastan to worm in an "Impedimenta!", freezing the Prewett in his tracks.  
Lucius gave him a nod (what's with everyone and their nods?), but before he could do the same to Gideon, a wave of heat knocked the two off their feet. Looking around, almost everyone was flat on the floor, much in shock. Rabastan's head slowly turned to the wall, afraid to see if it was a Slytherin.

It was.  
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_**Regulus** _

He didn't know how it happened. Regulus had been running through the crowd, shooting perfectly timed hexes and jinxes here and there, invisible although he was the cause of many Slytherin victories. He blended in perfectly since he was used to being in the background, leaving behind many surprised Gryffindors, a look that said, "Where did he come from?" on their faces before they were cursed. He was a listener, the person backstage that heard all the secrets, learned all the knowledge, knew all his opponents weaknesses from hours of observation (Rabastan called it stalkerish, but he never paid any mind).

But he could never - no, he would not allow himself - to be seen. He bet that more than half the Gryffindor House simply knew him as "Mini Black" or worse, "Sirius' brother", but it was a small price to pay for his advantage.

He could stand out if he wanted to, he knew that, but showing off was a Gryffindor trait. People - mostly from other Houses - often asked him why he only rarely abused the secrets he knew, why he didn't blackmail people into his bidding. Regulus would then just smile an eerie little smile, and reply, "That's just not the Slytherin way". His house prided themselves in being able to weave lies and rumors, gain information over the other without attracting attention. They were snakes, working in the shadows and being crafty.

Getting everyone to stare at you was not one of the above.

Why had he done that? What crazy impulse had driven him to defend Snape the loner? Who had provoked Regulus Arcturus Black so much that he had to burn their clothes off?

His brother, that's who.  
Sirius Orion Black infuriated Regulus to no end, strutting around the school, his personal fan club trailing behind him like lost puppies. The Marauders, though mainly Sirius and Potter, pulled off annoying and loud pranks, many of which the Slytherins were subjected to. And when asked why he did it, he would always go off on a rant, claiming that the House of green and silver was evil, and all of its students, from the most ambitious seventh year to the meekest first year, were no-good Death Eaters, and that they deserved to have dungbombs hidden in their Common Room that would go off every five minutes.

Just his essence angered Regulus. Sirius could do whatever he wanted, say whatever he wanted, and still get away. The staff and students loved him, and biased Dumbledore was no exception. The kooky old Headmaster always protested his innocence, though he wasn't.

Even at home, Sirius was able to get off the hook every single time. He could permanently glue posters of half-naked Muggles and those bike-things to his bedroom walls and only get a few screams out of Mother. He could protest for Muggleborns, Muggles, and Squibs at dinner and only receive counter-arguments. He could get Sorted into Gryffindor, hang out with Evans and McDonald, regularly get detention, get only four O.W.L.s, run away from home and not realize how bloody spoiled he was. Heck, he probably could join Dumbledore's rebellion group, the Order of the Pheonix, and Orion would still defend his firstborn, his heir, his favorite son.

And as his brother, whether Sirius liked it or not, the broken bridge of friendship he had with Regulus still had ropes - weak, thin ropes, but still there - would force Regulus to protect his older brother as well. Sirius called his brother a show-off, the apple of his parents' eyes, but he never realized how spoiled he was. Regulus did those things - getting into Slytherin, actually obeying his parents, getting Prefect badge, making allies with students that came from powerful pureblood lines - to take the limelight off his brother. To remove their parents' scrutinizing gaze off Sirius in all his idiotic faults. He was sacrificing himself for his estranged brother, while Sirius whined about being ignored and abused, Gryffindor girls cooing and babying him all throughout his sad, sad, tale.

But he knew that none of those facts would help him get out of this mess and would probably only receive more stares and a heated counter-argument from his brother and Potter for his rant about the unfairness of life. He inwardly winced. I'm getting too sentimental. Must come from spending too much time with Alecto Carrow. The confident redhead came from a fairly pure line (it was common knowledge that no family is strictly "pure"), quite skilled with dueling and infamous for her Memory Charms. They were acquaintances since they both strived to be in the Dark Lord's "army", though Regulus often found himself questioning her sanity.

Regulus could already see McGonagall striding down the hall towards them, not looking in the best of moods. Her hand clutched the Firwood so tightly that her knuckles were turning white, a sure sign that she was angry, and that many would be getting detention.

He seemed to be the only one who had noticed the teacher, as the rest of the students were staring at the red-faced Sirius, since he was only wearing his comical pink boxer shorts, with little red hearts on it. Normally, the bystanders would have found this hilarious, if not his clothes had been burned off by none other than the Flame Conjuring Charm.

The spell had banned by the school so no one could use it unless of an emergency or with a teacher's approval because of its dangerous, burning effects. The simple "Incendio" was alright; the average elementary student could perform it. But Incendio Tria was much, much more powerful and deadly. In fact, Regulus could see several burns, blisters and boils beginning to form on his brother's body (which, as expected, the girls that had already gotten over their initial shock were gawking at). Portraits and ghosts gossiped that it had been banned by Salazar Slytherin himself, after he got seriously injured in one of Godric Gryffindor and his practice duels - accidentally, of course, but the snakes had never forgiven the lions. It had been one of the first things that led to the end of the two founders' friendship.

Potter, seeing a distressed friend and an "enemy" in shock, yelled, "Tarantallegra!"

He seemed to have been trying to make Regulus even more embarrassed than his brother by making his legs dance uncontrollably, but the latter was trained by Bellatrix not for nothing, and on instinct he numbly raised his wand, silently performing the Counter-Spell.

The exchange snapped everyone out of their shock, and at once the Gryffindors were on their feet, casting spell after spell at Regulus. Slytherins jumped to the Fifth Year's defense, though not out of the good of their heart, although Regulus was fairly popular, but because his House believed in sticking together.

Regulus smiled faintly at the thought, knowing he had people to back him up against the murderous looking Sirius, especially after he saw Narcissa, his polite and sweet cousin who was the picture of serenity in the eyes of many (though Regulus didn't doubt that she was put in the wrong House), shoot a furious Stinging Hex at Sirius, shouting that he was disrespecting his family and dueling him one on one, leaving one bewildered Lucius Malfoy to catch up with his betrothed.

"Stop this right this moment!"  
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
_**Sirius**_

Minnie was livid, casting a single spell that extracted everyone's wand from their hands and making it rain sticks in front of her. Evans trailed behind her, face red from anger. Her expression seemed to scream, 'DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY HOUSE POINTS WE'RE GOING TO LOSE BECAUSE OF YOU IDIOTS?!'

"What were you thinking?!" Minnie yelled at no one in particular. Sirius wished that she would favor Gryffindors like Slughorn did with the Slytherins, but the Transfiguration teacher was all too fair, except when it came to Quidditch.

"Professor McGonagall, if I may," Malfoy said politely, but Sirius wasn't fooled by the Snake's charms. Neither was Minnie, as she didn't say anything and just gave a simple curt nod.

Malfoy wasn't discouraged and turned towards Prongs and him with disdain, "Those two Bl--" he paused for half a second, but it didn't go unnoticed by Sirius, " - _Gryffindors_ thought it would be funny if they changed our Common Room to red and gold. Potter pretended to be Barty Crouch Jr. - who we have no idea about his whereabouts, and a strict violation of school rules, as they obviously brewed their own Polyjuice Potion, or stole it - while Black half of your House stood by the door, waiting to ambush us."

Minnie raised her eyebrows at Prongs, finally getting her answer to the silent question of why "Crouch" was fighting his own House. "Is this true, Mister - "

"No!" Sirius shouted, before realizing he sounded like a three-year-old who's been told by his parents to go to bed. "That is not true, Professor." she raised her eyebrows once again at him, probably surprised that he hadn't called her, "Minnie" or "McG" or, God forbid it, "Tabby". However, Sirius didn't notice in his mental frenzy to find a realistic lie. Good thing for him, when one is at Hogwarts, everything is possible.

"We were getting our revenge," he said, wildly improvising. In of his peripheral vision, he saw Slytherins exchange wary - but not shocked - glances. The snakes and the lions were known for their bitter rivalry, and it wasn't unlikely that one had done something to piss the other off. "I'm sure many of you know this already, but just a few days ago, down by the Black Lake, Snape called our dear Lily Evans - his supposed best, and only, might I add, friend - the M-word."

That did the trick. Many younger Slytherins' eyes widened - becoming so big and bulging that Sirius was shocked that they hadn't popped out of their sockets yet, while the older students, trained and bred to keep their cool and expression indifferent, simply stared at his House blankly. The Gryffindors gasped, and there were murmurs of, "How dare he?!", "Not that shocking, Slytherins are supposed to be like that", and a loud, "That greasy git!" coming from Prongs, jumping at a chance to show his distaste for Snape in front of an audience. Mary McDonald, a Muggleborn and a subject of bullying herself, rewarded Snivellus with a shriek and called him something foul by Muggle standards, judging from expressions of other the Muggleborns. Minnie didn't even reprimand her.

Normally, Sirius would've laughed, but the Slytherins always managed to reawaken a memory of his childhood, since they represented everything his parents wanted him to be, and everything he loathed. This time, they brought words from his mother (if he dared to use such a maternal name on her), and they were not pleasant.

 _"Indifference gives us the upper hand," the blasted Blood Maniac had always said before he and Regulus were sent to Hogwarts, disregarding the fact that they were mere children who didn't need to know about politics and the Wizarding World's democracy, "Showing your emotions on your face, clear as crystal, would be like showing your opponent all your cards in a game of poker. Hide your intentions, remain undecided but not uncertain will frustrate your opponent and their mask will slip off, slowly but surely. But if you are brash and hotheaded, making decisions without using your_ good-for-nothing _brain - " Walburga gave ten-year-old Sirius a cold glare, " - then your mask, if you ever even managed to make one, will be the one to fall and crumble. It's really just a battle of wills. And the House of Black never loses."_

_With that she practically glided out of the room, face pleasant and peaceful, black silk robes swishing around her high heels, and an elegance to her step that radiated power and wealth, making you feel like a small, insignificant speck. No one could've ever guessed that she just finished a stern talking-to - close to a screaming match - with her eldest._

"I was already well aware of that, Mister Black." Minnie interrupted his trip down Memory Road. Her lips were pressed into a thin line, and her eyes flickered to Snivellus, who just leaned against the wall, looking the Transfiguration teacher dead in the eye right back, face betraying no signs of emotion. His line of sight then traveled over Minnie's shoulder to Evans, whose face was redder than her hair and had sparks flying from her wand. She looked like she wanted to hit someone. Probably him. Or Prongs. Or both of them. Perhaps Prongs would get lucky and he would ask her out (for the eighty-seventh time that month), and in her crazed state she would blurt out a yes. "I have spoken to Professor Slughorn about it, and I am sure he has handled this situation accordingly. There is no need to take matters into your own hands," she stared sternly at the two Gryffindors before muttering, "again."

"Yeah, I bet ole Sluggy handled the situation accordingly," Prongs scoffed, sneering at Snivellus. "If accordingly means just giving that slimy git a reprimand. He called Evans a-a - !" he spluttered indignity. "THE M-WORD! Slughorn won't punish his favorite student, and he's totally biased about Slytherins - !"

"You lying, disgusting Blood Traitor!" the Carrow girl screeched, thrusting her wand in Prongs' face. "Maybe if you used your hollow head for once in your useless life and be civil, instead of pulling stupid pranks on his House, Slughorn would treat you better than the scum you are!"

"Miss Carrow, we do not tolerate that kind of language here at Hog - !"

"Says the insane Carrow!" Sirius shot back, interrupting Minnie. "Cousin Bella's lessons doing you good? I can see it; two Blood Maniacs running along the streets of Hogsmeade like rabid animals, killing and crucifying everything in your path!"

"Sirius, you need to calm down - " he could distantly pick Moony's calm, soothing voice, but he was hearing everything as if he was underwater. He was being drowned in a sea of anger, and he let the red wash over him.

"You Muggle," Sirius taunted as Carrow lunged at him, fists balled, failing miserably as he simply took a step back, "Now trying to fight me the old-fashioned Muggle way? What would your Death Eater, pureblood parents think? Oh right, they don't care or think about you expect your future husband that will likely be your second cousin and the sons you'll birth. They'll just blast you off their family tree!"

"Mister Black, to call someone's parents' Death Eaters is not a light accusation - "

"Do you think that you had never received any maternal love?" a dry, flat voice drawled, and Sirius immediately realized the owner, "My dear brother, if you hadn't been such a disappointment, starting from your birth, Mother and Father wouldn't have to be so stern with you. And if you lost your prime Gryffindor trait, i.e. thick-headedness, then you would realize while Mother may have lost all love for you the moment you started breaking traditions, Father cares for you - "

"Oh, does he, now?" Sirius said in a high-pitched voice, a deep contrast to his normal suave tones, "Then why hadn't he ever stood up to Mother when she beat me for breaking the antique vase? For calling Augustine Nott 'fat' at a dinner party? For reading a Muggle book? For getting into Gryffindor? For every other thing I did that wasn't 'pureblood' or 'Slytherin' enough for her? And when I ran away, why didn't he try to stop me? Why didn't he - "

"You think he didn't do anything? He bloody did everything in his power to help you! It was Father that stopped Mother from beating you to death by telling her to go gentler! It was Father who turned a blind eye to all your exploits! It was Father who traveled all over Europe for a month to try and find you, only to hear that you were staying at your Blood Traitor mate's house, perfectly content!" Regulus stopped his raging for a few seconds to take deep, heaving breaths. His mask, his emotionless face, was gone, and Sirius could see pure anger on it.

Regulus took one final breath and said in calmer, softer tones that Sirius knew was practiced and trained to make him sound like the unreasonable one and feel guilty. "It was Father who tried to stop Mother from blasting you off the tree. He begged. He got on his knees and begged, Sirius. Begged our Mother to reconsider her decisions, take you back as their son. She had to burn a hole in his hand - his hand - before he relented and let her blast you off the tree."

Sirius opened his mouth - but closed it again. He wanted to retort, to shoot back a snarky remark. But he couldn't. He could only stand there, opening and closing his mouth like a fish out of the water as he tried to comprehend what his brother just said.

Everyone stared at him with bated breath to see what the elder Black was going to do with the information. But he could only stand, gaping. Regulus' mask was back on, and he too stared blankly at Sirius, unblinking.

"Students out o' bed, students out o' bed!" Filch's croaky voice echoing along the corridors snapped the brothers out of their staring contest. He hobbled around the corner, Mrs. Norris slinking around his feet. When the sight of more than forty students, made up of Slytherins and Gryffindors, one of which was wearing only his underwear, a teacher in shock, two murderous looking redheads and Peeves sticking his head through Bellatrix Black's to make it seems like she had the Poltergeist's head greeted him, he had to pinch himself twice to make sure he wasn't dreaming.

Minnie shook herself out of her reverie and clasped her hands together. "Argus, I have this situation under control. You can go now."

"But - "

"You can go now, Argus." her tone made it obvious it was an order, not a choice. The caretaker blinked a few more times, before turning on his heel and scooping up Mrs. Norris in his arms, grumbling all the while. "That was my chance to use my ankle hangers on those blasted Marauders, but nooo, McGonagall had to go and ruin it..."

Minnie turned back towards the students, clearing her throat, looking very uncomfortable. "Erm, right. All Gryffindors who have participated in this duel, you will be serving detention with me for two weeks. Potter, Black, as I see that you have started another fight, you will be serving a month of detentions with me, two more weeks for brewing or stealing Polyjuice Potion and stealing a student's identity, and one more for hiding Crouch Jr. somewhere. There will be a detention every night - "

"But Minerva, what about Quidditch practices - ?" Prongs cut in, calling the stern Professor by her first name like he did with all the staff except Filch. Though Sirius felt quite numb from his brother's revelation, like he often did when he was in History of Magic, hearing but not understanding, he still rolled his eyes. Prongs often spoke like an adult, though that didn't mean he was mature.

"And we didn't kidnap Crouch Jr. and stuff him in a supply closet or something like that," Sirius' own voice sounded dull and toneless to himself. "Though the idea was tempting," he added with a forced smirk. It wouldn't do for Hogwarts to think that their infamous player, pretty boy Black was put down by some words, probably lies, spoken by his estranged younger brother.

 _Only by ten months_ , a playfully snotty, indignant voice would always say when they were smaller. The words rang in his head, spinning in circles and circles.  
_Only by ten months._  
_Only by ten months._  
_Only by ten months._  
_Only by ten months._  
_Only by ten months._

The words held no importance; it was just a phrase that Regulus would always say when Sirius would take on the role of being the bossy older brother.

Still, the line repeated itself over and over again, reminding Sirius of the days where he and Regulus had been friends. He was suddenly hit by a nauseating wave of memories that he had locked away.

_Eight-year-old Regulus was sitting alone in the Black family Library, surrounded by piles upon piles of books. The one he held in his lap looked a least five inches thick. Wizardry And Witchcraft Through The Ages, the title read. He seemed perfectly content._

_Then nine-year-old Sirius burst around the corner, arms flailing about. "Reggie, let's go play!"_

_'Reggie' looked up from his book and frowned. "But Mother said that this book will help me understand_ magical _theory better when we get to Hogwarts, and it's very interesting - hey! Give it! Give it back!"_

_Sirius had yanked the heavy book out of his brother's lap and was now holding it over his head, far out of Regulus' reach. "No can do, little bro. As the big brother, it's my responsibility to make sure that you don't fill your head with useless knowledge and make sure you have some fun in your very, very boring life."_

_"Don't call me, 'little bro' ", Regulus grumbled but followed Sirius out of the dark and stuffy library anyway. "You're only older by ten months."_

_"But still older," Sirius gave his younger brother a cheeky little grin, and then took off in the direction of the back yard. "Race you!"_  
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
_**Regulus**_

Regulus could see his brother composing himself, plastering a fake smirk on for the audience. It was the same smirk he put on whenever Mother started to yell at him, pulling out her wand, to make it seem like he wasn't afraid, when he was really trembling inside. It was the same smirk that supposedly made girls weak in their knees and swoon (The fatal weakness of dumb blondes, Rabastan always said). It was the same confident smirk he used to send Regulus when they were younger. He would become the adventurous leader while Regulus would become his wise and careful sidekick.

Together, they had been a team.

Regulus remembered looking up to Sirius - he would never admit it - because of his bravery. One would have to be insanely courageous to stand up to their parents. I'm older, he would always say. And it's my responsibility to look after my little brother.

I'm older.

Regulus could faintly make out Sirius saying something about Barty, but he had been consumed by his memories.

Heartbreaking, mocking memories.

_Ten-year-old Regulus stood on his tip-toes, trying to put up a poster. Mother and Father were out, and they had taken Kreacher with them. So he was left alone to decorate his room the old-fashioned, Muggle way. However, it was harder than it looked. Each time, when it looked like he had succeeded, the top half of the poster would unstick itself from his bedroom wall and bend over._

_"You know, you could get into a lot of trouble - "_

_The started child whipped around quickly, the desk which he was standing upon wobbling under moving feet. Regulus toppled over, thankfully landing and his bed._

_" - if Mother and Father found you standing on an antique family desk." Sirius flashed Regulus a wolfish grin. sitting on the bed next to him._

_"Merlin, Sirius, don't scare me like that!" the younger Black gasped between laughs, dramatically clutching a hand to his heart._

_"Yeah, yeah." Sirius waved his reprimand away, instead of turning to the wrinkled poster. "Why don't you just use a Permanent Sticking Charm?" He looked in disdain at the sticky white liquid dripping from the poster's back._

_"Mother took away our wands before she went away, remember?" Regulus reminded his brother before getting up again. He jumped onto the desk, once again trying to get the poster the stick, and once again failing._

_Regulus heard an exasperated sigh, and then felt a hand pushing him over. "Hey!" he yelled as he fell onto his bed for the second time that day. He watched as Sirius carelessly shove his quills, ink palettes, and bottles of glue to the side, pulling himself up on the writing desk. Sirius reached up, and without even struggling, slapped the poster on the wall with all the might an eleven-year-old could muster, and then gently smoothed over the parchment._

_Sirius jumped off the desk and onto the floor. Regulus was about to thank him when he saw Sirius look at him with a frown. Then, he realized what was on the poster._

_It pictured a silver snake coiling up and the suddenly rearing up, baring its fangs and lashing out at something outside of the poster's frame. The background was a green crest with black, thin flames - so sparse that it looked like smoke - waving about._

_Regulus loved it._

_Sirius, however, did not._

_He kept frowning at the poster but didn't say anything. In Regulus' opinion, screaming and yelling would be better than his brother's silent disappointment._

_"You don't hate me...do you, Siri?" he asked tentatively, afraid of the answer._

_Sirius looked at Regulus, bewildered. "No! Of course not, silly. It's just...well, did you put the poster up...willingly?"_

_Regulus chewed on his bottom lip for a few moments before replying, "Yes."_

_The sad look on Sirius' face was almost enough for Regulus to take back his answer. He knew that his brother wanted to get into Gryffindor, and wanted him to be in it too, but Regulus knew he wasn't lion material._

_"Well, it doesn't matter!" Sirius suddenly said, smiling brightly with a hopeful look in his eyes. "We'll always be friends, Reggie!"_

Regulus smiled, one of a wizard who had seen too much, bore too much, and lived through too much. He could hear McGonagall say that the Slytherins were to serve two weeks of detention with Slughorn, and Regulus was to be sent to the Headmaster's office to talk about him performing Incendio Tria.

But all he could think about was the bridge.  
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
Then the Slytherins walked away, the Gryffindors walked away, McGonagall walked away. Lily ranted to James and Sirius about lost House Points, Alecto ranted to Amycus and Bellatrix about lost House Points. Remus chastised his friends for their prank, Rabastan chastised Regulus about his outburst. Lucinda put her hand on Regulus' shoulder and asked if he was okay, Gryffindor girls latched onto Sirius' arm and asked if he was okay.

The moment seemed so normal, the scene so familiar, that one could not possibly guess that something phenomenal had happened.

But the Black brothers knew.

In that moment, the moment they walked passed each other, time seemed to stop. Everyone else seemed to stop and turn to see what would happen.

It seemed so cliché, but it was the perfect moment. Sirius would grab his younger brother's sleeve, and Regulus would turn around, shocked. Sirius would hug him, and Regulus would do the same without hesitation. Sirius would apologize, saying that he shouldn't have run away and that he should've kept his word, should've stayed friends with Regulus. That because he was older, more mature, he should have realized that being different Houses didn't matter, shouldn't have let the fact split them apart. Regulus would apologize, too, that he should have stood up to Mother when they beat him, that he should've kept being his brother's sidekick and never have left Sirius. That he was only younger by ten months, so he too should take the blame, and that he shouldn't have left his first friend, his brother, for new ones.

But the moment never happened.

Instead, they passed each other, giving their sibling the cold shoulder.

Both wanted to apologize.

Both wanted to take everything back.

Both wanted their bridge of friendship back.

But neither knew how to fix it.

And so they walked away, the last strings of their bridge of friendship breaking.

_**END** _

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you like :) Suggestions and critique are welcome!


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